Trail Blazers (+7) over Hawks: This is one of my favorite picks on the year in the NBA. The situation sets up perfectly from an All-Star Game angle. The Atlanta Haws are riding a 17-game win streak including a 15-2 against the spread run (they failed to cover their last two games). The Hawks aren’t on national TV much and don’t get a lot of attention, but three players from Atlanta were picked to represent the Eastern Conference in the All-Star Game. The biggest All-Star snub was Portland point guard Damian Lillard who is the consideration for NBA MVP. I expect Lillard to play angry and focused to prove that he should’ve been picked to be on the All-Star team. Meanwhile the Atlanta players might feel overconfident that they were selected. The markets have finally caught up with Atlanta and they are now getting respect in this line. The Hawks might win this game but this spread is asking them to win by a margin. Expect Portland to be focused on the defensive end after giving 55 points on Wednesday to Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving.